It is a very well-known fact that Shakespeare wrote a play named Hamlet. Less well-known is the fact that he had a son named Hamnet who died at the age of 11. People theorise that Hamnet’s death in some way inspired Shakespeare’s writing of Hamlet. (As for the difference in spelling - apparently Hamnet and Hamlet were interchangeably used as names).
The author takes this, and a few other key facts that are known about Shakespeare - that he grew up in Stratford with a glove-maker for a father, married a local farmer’s daughter named Agnes, and split his time between Stratford and London where he wrote his plays - and fills in the gaps. She imagines what sort of woman, wife and mother Agnes must have been, the opposition they had from their family considering the 8-year age gap (Shakespeare was 18 and Agnes 26) and their grief when they lost their son Hamnet.
Agnes is written as a very strong character - she has to be, considering Shakespeare is away for long stretches of a time as he writes his plays in London. And also as a bit of a free spirit as she goes traipsing about the countryside looking for medicinal herbs. There are some slight fantasy elements as she can also at times see glimpses of the future. This is all completely fictionalised but it’s such beautiful writing and a worthy successor (loosely, of sorts) to Shakespeare’s legacy.
The book was originally published in 2020, but I only heard about it more recently. I assume it picked up a lot of buzz after it was adapted into a movie last year, and then nominated at the Oscars. I haven’t had the chance to see the movie, but the actress who played Agnes did win Best Actress so I’m glad it seems she did the book justice.